South Cook News

When Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau learned from village board trustees that Dan McLaughlin had hidden his ownership of a property that the board was considering acquiring as a multiuse building, he was suspicious.

“It indicates there were insider deals going on," Pekau said. "There should be processes in place where this is made public and there are appraisals at market value."

That’s because McLaughlin had been mayor in 2017 when the board nearly purchased 14332 Beacon Ave. had the agenda item not been tabled.

“It looks bad,” Pekau told South Cook News. “It's not surprising to me that a mayor could influence the board. If you look at the minutes associated with this you can basically see that, over time, the first reaction of the board was not to do these things.”

As previously reported, trustees questioned the purchase of single-family homes from 2014 to 2016 that were allegedly flipped by the village of Orland Park before Pekau unseated McLaughlin as mayor. McLaughlin had been mayor for 24 years and is running against Pekau in the upcoming April election.

“These are insider deals where somebody is getting a sweet deal,” Pekau said in an interview. “I don't blame the owners who are selling their home or those who are buying a home because they're just trying to get the best deal they can.”

Cynthia Nelson Katsenes was among the village trustees who reviewed all of the homes purchased and sold by the village since the 1990s. She learned that among the property owners was a mysterious trust.

“The tax records showed our former mayor was getting the tax bill since December 2015, and who gets a tax bill on a property unless they own it,” Katsenes told South Cook News. “There was a demolition permit provided to me by the village manager that was filled out by a contractor that shows our former mayor Dan McLaughlin as the owner.”

McLaughlin said at a news conference last month that he did not reveal ownership because he did not want favorable treatment, according to a report by Patch.com.

“He admitted that he intentionally did not disclose it, yet state law requires that it's disclosed as do our ordinances as well,” Pekau said. “At a minimum this is highly unethical.”

A report has since been filed with the FBI.

“The FBI is reviewing it as well as other state agencies, and we're waiting to hear back,” Pekau said. "My experience with the election board is they really don't do anything with complaints but clearly there are statutes that were not followed and village ordinances that were not followed."